While little is known about the ARC Raiders TV and movie adaptations that were announced earlier this month, Embark Studios’ executive producer Aleksander Grøndal has offered some details about why the studio decided to license the PvPvE extraction shooter for these adaptations. In an interview with GamesRadar, Grøndal said that the world of ARC Raiders allows for the exploration of interesting stories.
Acknowledging the fact that ARC Raiders primarily keeps its narrative in the background, instead opting to focus on the emergent stories that pop up between players, Grøndal said that the extraction shooter is a “fertile ground to tell all kinds of different stories. I think it’s really interesting to try to explore that, what that would mean, and see what comes out of it. I’m pretty excited. Of course, we all have to see what the concepts are for that. But I’m excited to see how far we can take that.”
Grøndal has also confirmed that Embark is going to be fairly involved with these adaptations while it continues to find partners “that we can really trust, and that understand what ARC Raiders is and what we’re trying to do.” However, the company has no intention of stepping over production teams, instead wanting to “let the craftsmen do what they’re best at.” At the same time, Embark will “come with our input in terms of how we maintain the brand perspective over time, and make sure that we kind of feel like it’s coherent with our vision for where we want to take ARC Raiders over time.”
Along with ARC Raiders, Embark’s other multiplayer shooter – THE FINALS – is also slated to get similar adaptations. However, the competitive shooter is much lighter on the narrative aside from its general framing that explains that THE FINALS is essentially a televised show seen by millions. Instead, the studio has largely opted to focus on the moment-to-moment gameplay in THE FINALS, with the entirety of its narrative largely being left to players’ imagination aside from vague hints from environmental storytelling.
In the meantime, Embark has been looking at how it can make ARC Raiders more welcoming for players who don’t want to engage in PvP. The company is currently testing a PvE toggle that allows players to jump into a map and take on the various ARCs and other threats without having to worry about hostile players. In an interview, Grøndal has said that the team wanted to give “dad gamers” what they need through the toggle.
“Every time they feel like they get defeated by someone extraction camping or someone else with higher gear, it’s just frustration for them. And they express this pretty vocally. ‘I love the game, I just want to play the game, but I really don’t like dealing with other players in that way.’ OK, we hear you. If you like the game that you are playing, and if we just remove the pain the other players are giving you, that’s a fairly simple thing we can try to implement.”
